Inhalation of environmental particulate matter (PM) is correlated with adverse health effects in humans, but gene products that couple detection with cellular responses, and the specific properties of PM that target different pathways, have not been fully elucidated. TRPA1 and V1 are two cation channels expressed by sensory neurons and non-neuronal cells of the respiratory tract that have been implicated as possible mediators of PM toxicity. The goals of this research were to determine if environmental PM preferentially activated TRPA1 and to elucidate the criteria responsible for selectivity. Quantification of TRPA1 activation by 4 model PM revealed that diesel exhaust PM (DEP) and coal fly ash PM (CFA1) were TRPA1 agonists at concentrations >0.077 mg/mL. DEP was more potent, and approximately 97% of the activity of DEP was recovered by serial extraction of the solid DEP with ethanol and hexane/n-butyl chloride. Modification of the electrophile/agonist binding sites on TRPA1 (C621, C641, C665, and K710) to non-nucleophilic residues reduced TRPA1 activation by DEP and abolished activation by DEP extracts as well as multiple individual electrophilic chemical components of DEP. However, responses to CFA1 and DEP solids were not affected by these mutations. Activity-guided fractionation of DEP and high resolution mass spectroscopy identified several new DEP-derived TRPA1 agonists, and activation of mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons demonstrated that TRPA1 is a primary target for DEP in a heterogeneous population of primary sensory nerves. It is concluded that TRPA1 is a specific target for electrophilic chemical components of DEP and proposed that activation of TRPA1 in the respiratory tract is likely to be an important mechanism for DEP pneumotoxicity.